In his career, he played mainly for Lyon and Barcelona, winning 18 titles with both teams combined including two Champions League trophies with the latter. His later career was marked by liver disease, resulting in a transplant.

During his later years in France, where he won three consecutive national championships – of the seven the team won – Abidal's confidence was shown when Lyon played Manchester United and he was in charge of marking Cristiano Ronaldo: "As a defender, my aim is to infuriate the opponent," he explained. "I want him to be so sick of the sight of me that he has to move somewhere else on the pitch to get away."[4] His defensive teammates at L'OL included François Clerc, Grégory Coupet and Anthony Réveillère, as well as Brazilian internationals Caçapa and Cris.[5][6]

On 10 November 2004, Abidal scored the first goal of his career, in a 2–3 loss at former club Lille for the season's Coupe de la Ligueround-of-32. As a result of his exploit, his parents agreed to get married after a 35-year union.[7]

On 29 June 2007, Abidal signed a four-year contract with FC Barcelona for €9 million, after repeatedly stating that he would not return to training with Lyon if he was not allowed to move.[10] He was given the number 22 jersey, as the number 20 he wore at Lyon was already taken by Deco; club president Joan Laporta also mentioned that his contract contained a €90 million release clause, and that Lyon would receive an extra €500,000 if Barcelona won the UEFA Champions League in any of the following four seasons.[11]

On 18 January 2012, Abidal scored his second goal for Barcelona, also in the domestic cup, helping the visitors come from behind to win it 2–1 at Real Madrid (eventually 4–3 on aggregate).[20] He renewed his contract early into the following month, keeping him at the Camp Nou until 30 June 2013,[21] but on 30 May of that year it was announced that the club would not further extend it.[22][23]

On 15 March 2011, Barcelona announced that Abidal had been diagnosed with a tumour in his liver, and the player underwent surgery two days later.[24] Citing privacy concerns as wished by the player, the club did not release additional information in regards to his condition.[25] In response to the announcement, players and fans around the world dedicated well wishes to him on various social networking service and sports websites.[26][27]

On 15 March 2012, it was announced that Abidal would have to undergo a liver transplant because of problems which were unresolved with the previous operation.[32] On 10 April he underwent surgery, with his cousin Gérard being the donor.[33] On the same day Barcelona beat Getafe 4–0, and the victory was dedicated to the player in the post-game press conference;[34][35] he later revealed that his friend and teammate Dani Alves offered to donate part of his liver for the transplant, but he denied because it would have affected the latter's playing career.[36]

On 21 May 2012, Abidal was released from hospital to resume the recovery process at his home,[37] and doctors revealed that he could still play football in the near future if he wished.[38] He returned to training in the Pyrenees in October 2012[39] but, the following month, he stated that his priority was a return to full health rather than resuming his football career.[40]

On 18 December 2012, Abidal was given the green light to start training again,[41] and he returned to active in January of the following year. On 19 March of the following year he played 65 minutes for FC Barcelona B in a practice match with FC Istres,[42] and on 6 April he returned to official play, replacing Gerard Piqué for the last 20 minutes of a 5–0 home win against RCD Mallorca.[43][44] Two weeks later he played the full 90 minutes for the first time since his comeback, featuring in a 1–0 home success over Levante UD.[45]

Abidal was a tactically intelligent and versatile defender, capable of featuring as a centre or left back due to his positional sense and his ability to read the game. In his prime, he was also quick and strong which, along with his technical ability and distribution, allowed him run up the wing to assist his team offensively as well as defensively.[62][63]